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Friday, April 6, 2012

So don't think for a second that just because I haven't posted a recipe since January that it was because I just didn't have time to post anything. I literally did not cook or buy food for about 8 weeks. Straight delivery for 8 weeks, my friends. I'm not proud of it. But that is what happens during busy season. I actually even had a weekend here and there when I could have cooked or baked, but I just wasn't feeling it. So imagine my surprise when I finally came home at my regular 7:30 on Monday night and was actually in the mood to cook. Squeeee!

I generally am not a huge fan of chicken, unless in the wing form (be it buffalo, or bonchon), but one chicken dish I can get down on includes artichokes and sun dried tomatoes. So I literally googled "chicken and artichoke recipes" and this one came up. I made a few alterations (mostly because the idea of baking mayo makes me gag, and hello, I wanted sun dried tomatoes) and Tom and I agreed it turned out FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC. This could be because it was the first non-Indian/Middle Eastern/Chinese/Thai dish we've eaten in months, or it could be because these ingredients just sing together so well. Plus, whenever I see "casserole" in my head I think - yay - only one dish to clean! But that is never really the case. I actually had to wash a pan, a pot, three knives, two forks, and a measuring cup, and eventually the baking dish. But it was totally worth it.

Transfer to a greased 2-qt. baking dish.
Sprinkle with croutons. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 25-30 minutes or
until heated through.

Both of these photos are of the casserole before it went in the oven. It was so good that we ate it before I remembered to take a shot of it fully baked!

My suggestions: I thought it tasted just great with less mayo, but if you are the type that likes to follow recipes to the T - let me know how it comes out. Also, it's not really a chicken, artichoke and sun dried tomato casserole without the sun dried tomatoes. After I chopped a few up, I mixed in about 2/3s of them with everything else to evenly distribute, then the remaining amount I sprinkled on top just because they really popped against the rest of the mostly cream colored ingredients.